


What Defines You

by Sneakyfox55



Series: Just Try [2]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Ambassador Papyrus, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Brotherly Love, Everyone Has Issues, Frisk (Undertale) Has Issues, Frisk has a last name, Gen, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Not everything is good, Papyrus (Undertale) Knows More Than He Lets On, Papyrus (Undertale) Remembers Resets, Papyrus (Undertale)-centric, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route - "I have places to go.", Protective Papyrus (Undertale), References to Depression, Sans (Undertale) Needs a Hug, Sans (Undertale) Remembers Resets, Self-Esteem Issues, Sequel, Undertale Saves and Resets, Worried Papyrus (Undertale), also a bit Sans-centric, eventually, everyone's trying their best, frisk has a family, it depends on the author really, supposed to be only 6 chapters long
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-04
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:29:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22551025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sneakyfox55/pseuds/Sneakyfox55
Summary: It's been a year since monsters first moved to the surface, and things are going relatively well, everything considered; even after their human ally, the one who freed them, suddenly chose to leave and go on their own path, they've found a way to make a name for themselves, more or less. There's just a small problem...Frisk has gone missing. Even though they hadn't been directly influencing the monsters' integration with humans, they'd been at least a portion of it, simply because they still supported them in some ways. Without that, monsterkind doesn't have much to go off of, unless they're somehow able to convince the humans on their own.It could be worse. It could also be better. It seems italwayscould be better, really.Even so... Papyrus isn't willing to give up so easily.
Relationships: Frisk & Papyrus (Undertale), Frisk & Sans (Undertale), Papyrus & Sans (Undertale)
Series: Just Try [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1605517
Comments: 27
Kudos: 64
Collections: My stuff, Undertale





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> As you can see, I'll probably make this one have six chapters at the most; it might fluctuate to a shorter chapter range or a longer one, it depends on how much I want to include here. It's really just my own estimate haha. It wasn't originally going to be that story-driven and more so just a way to tie up loose ends, but... Here we are.
> 
> Anyway, I'm super excited to share it with you guys, so without further adieu, enjoy the second (and probably final) part to Just Try!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where Frisk leaves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof sorry it's so short, i promise the next one should be out soon too

They knocked three times before Sans went over to answer. When he finally did, it was more so to get rid of the noise rather than so he could actually talk to them.

The door swung open almost reluctantly, in nature, and there they stood, holding an umbrella over their head, their eyes meeting his with a faltering sureness.

“I just came to—” they began quietly, but he interrupted.

“i know why you’re here.”

“...Oh.” They shuffled on the steps outside, as though trying to make the situation feel less awkward, somehow. “Um...” they tried, again; this time, he let them. “M—Toriel’s waiting in the car, so I have to make this quick.”

Sans just stared back silently. “Papyrus isn’t here,” he pointed out, gruffly. “might as well leave.”

They blinked, almost looking hurt. “Sans, I—” They stopped, probably seeing the hostility in his eye-sockets.

“i don’t want to hear your goodbyes.” He backed up further into the house, and their grip on their umbrella weakened as though they understood what he wanted; still, they wouldn’t entirely leave it at that.

“I’ll come visit,” they murmured, so softly, he barely heard them. “I just...” Again, they stop themselves.

“you just what?” he prompted, eye-lights dimming.

“...I need... Time.”

He almost laughed, right there and then— _they_ needed time? Geez. _That was hilarious._

Instead of humoring them, he took another step backward, saying, “’lright. bye.”

“Sans, wait—” They tried to step closer, protesting. He slammed the door on them.

Sighing, the human trudged back to Toriel’s van.

The drive to their parents’ house wasn’t long.


	2. Retrospective

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where things seem fine, for once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kind of just let this chapter write itself haha. sorry if this update seems a little late, i swear i haven't been neglecting this story at all lol
> 
> oh and in case there's any confusion, Frisk hasn't disappeared yet :)

The sun had come out a little over an hour ago, brightening up the earth with its light and warmth. The world almost seemed golden, through the rays it showed off. Everything was quiet. Peaceful.

It was better than they could have asked for, in spite of all that had happened. Things were... Fine. _Good_ , maybe.

... _Great_ , though... Might have been a bit too strong of a word. At least for now.

(Oh, who was he kidding? “ _For now_.” Right. As if it that could ever be true.)

But it was still good, certainly! Papyrus could vouch for that; and he would. Things were going better than they planned, and admittedly, he was relieved about that. It hadn’t always been... Easy, after all.

...Especially because of Frisk.

But they were doing better now! Granted, he hadn’t seen them in months, but he knew! They were trying to do good again. They were _better_. Better than they were before.

They hadn’t resetted, either; that was the main point.

(Sans was alive.)

(He wasn’t as hopeless anymore.)

Therefore, everything was going good! That’s... Probably the hundredth time he’s told himself that, but still! It’s nice. Humans are nice. Frisk is nice.

(They’re nice now, so it’s okay.)

(He’s... Not entirely wrong, anymore.)

(He’s not such a liar anymore.)

And Papyrus was very, very happy, because of these things. He had many things to be happy for. He was happy because everyone was on the surface, happy because his brother had finally grown (mostly) accustomed to being up here, and they didn’t have to go back to the underground as much. Happy because he’d succeeded, and Sans had succeeded, and Sans ~~had finally started~~ was believing that things would be alright again; that the human wouldn’t reset again.

There were still... Issues, of course. Papyrus knew that. He saw it every day, in fact. Not all humans were accepting—those that were now, had taken a long time to come around. Those that had always trusted monsters either didn’t know the full truth, or were few and far between.

And those that hated them liked to... Do very bad things.

(He needed to use magic, a lot, when that happened.)

(It was good he had a knack for healing.)

But that was why he was here. He kept the idea that they could all change, if they just saw how to, if they just had guidance. He was not as naïve as he’d once been, no—he knew his limits. He knew _their_ limits.

...There was always a chance, though.

And, despite everything, he’d seen a lot of those chances used, so far. Many humans were just frightened, or confused. They didn’t mean any real harm.

He’d... Like to say a lot of that was his doing; that he’d helped a lot of them keep on the straight and narrow, since he came here. But that’d be another lie. ~~Just like all the other ones.~~

It had really been up to them, in the end. He was simply there to see it through. To make things easier, and provide advice.

And as such, being the Ambassador proved quite difficult, since Frisk left. He hadn’t been good in that field, in the beginning. It took a ~~lot~~ bit of encouragement from others, including Sans, to get to a point where he actually believed he had the power to influence the humans like that.

(Even now, he wasn’t so sure of himself.)

Eventually, the only reason he decided to be Ambassador of Monsters at all was because he just wanted to help. He knew King Asgore needed the help, as much as he could get. He knew the king had done really bad things over the years—and while he didn’t agree with those things, he still helped, because the king would do the same for him, and because the king ~~had changed~~ ~~was good~~ saw his mistakes and acted on them himself.

Papyrus liked to help him. He liked to help everyone.

Most of all, he liked helping his brother.

(Because he’d failed to before.)

Sans was doing pretty well now, everything considered, and out of all Papyrus was glad about, that was the main one. Sans deserved it. He deserved to be doing well, and to be happy (even if he wasn’t just yet). Sans deserved everything good the surface had to offer. ~~Sans deserved better than Papyrus.~~

Above all, that was... The only thing Papyrus truly wished for: for Sans to finally get everything he deserved, after so long. After he himself had failed him. After leaving him all those times.

Sans deserved the world.

And with everything Papyrus had left, he would do about anything to get him just that.


	3. You Had It Coming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where things are not so good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~i swear the next ones will be longer~~
> 
> SORRY THIS IS KIND OF SHORT NOTICE? originally i was going to hold off on posting the next chapter a little longer than this but i found some inspiration last minute so here you go i guess, haha. meanwhile I'm trying to work on the next chapter of TAAT but it's going slowly--I caught the flu last week and that kind of disrupted everything lol. I'm just now recovering from it basically. In case anyone reading it is also reading this one, hopefully this clears a bit of that up maybe? either way please be patient with me, on both stories! ;w;
> 
> oh and title is from the song Iscariot by Walk the Moon. (please go listen to it btw it's such a good song) It honestly fits so well with this series and storyline and i basically consider it the theme song, so

In all retrospect, the day started out well: the weather was nice again, he hadn’t received any suspicious phone calls, he was on time with his schedule, and Sans had actually laughed at his own pun! It was great!

Even when Toriel called him, sounding... Somewhat distressed, Papyrus didn’t think much of it. Whatever anybody was usually distressed about, he was able to pacify them at least a little, especially the former Queen of Monsters. She trusted him very much ~~for some reason~~ and even though she sounded a bit more frazzled than normal, he was certain it wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle.

With a sense of purpose, he threw on his suit and tie, grabbed his briefcase and badge (just in case they asked what his position was—that was a thing they did ~~often~~ sometimes and he had to be prepared), then quickly hugged his brother goodbye.

...Of course, Papyrus wished he could take Sans with him. Even now, he... Didn’t like leaving him alone. But Sans always insisted it was fine, so eventually, he stopped arguing.

“YOU’LL CALL ME, THOUGH, RIGHT? IF YOU FEEL YOU NEED TO?” He knew he was being stupid, but...

“i will,” assured Sans, hugging him back just as tightly.

He really wished he would promise that; but he didn’t push it. He knew Sans didn’t like making promises. ~~And it was idiotic of him to think Sans should ever promise _him_ something.~~

After that, Papyrus left, albeit reluctantly, and checked his phone every twenty minutes, in case he missed something—better to be safe than sorry, after all. Thankfully, there were no incidents in that regard.

However, when he finally parked his car in the parking lot and entered the building, something was clearly off about the atmosphere.

“Ah, Mr. Aster! I’m glad you could make it!” A woman rushed up to greet him, curly blonde hair falling below her shoulders and wearing glasses that seemed too small for her face. Despite her friendly appearance, he felt some sort of apprehension wafting off her.

He checked her, just briefly, and was relieved to find it had nothing to do with him. He grinned back at her cheerfully. “GREETINGS, HUMAN! I AM GLAD TO HAVE MADE IT AS WELL!! BUT PLEASE, JUST PAPYRUS IS FINE.”

“Oh, of course. Right this way, then.” She beckoned him to follow her to the elevator, so he obliged.

Granted, he was used to this part, and he didn’t need directions, he knew which floor to go to; but followed her anyway, mostly out of courtesy but also because she was very nice, so not conversing with her would probably be a mistake on his part.

Upon talking with her a bit, he found out her name was Alice, and, seeing as he didn’t recognize her or her name at all, it was safe to say she was new to working at this particular building. She led the way off the elevator swiftly, then stopped at the room he was to enter. He thanked her and watched her leave before turning the doorknob, almost keeping his gaze on the ground in front of him automatically as he stepped inside. Feeling the stares on him, he quickly glanced up.

“HELLO,” he began, “IT IS NICE TO SEE YOU ALL AGAIN.”

The former king and queen, who sat closer to the door and to him, both offered him a smile, as they always did. A human at the very end of the table, facing him directly, smiled but said nothing, and the human next to him avoided acknowledging him at all.

Smoothing out his tie, Papyrus stepped up to the table and took his usual seat, pretending he couldn’t sense the ill-intent coming off the human’s soul beside him, instead setting his briefcase on the table carefully.

“ARE WE STILL GOING OVER THE CORE TODAY?” he asked, tentatively, after no one spoke. The human at the end of the table’s smile slipped.

“Actually, Papyrus,” he started, and the mood shifted, even more; the skeleton froze. “There’s been... A new issue that has come to our attention.”

“I don’t think—” Toriel began, but cut herself off quickly. The man nodded for her to continue instead, so she went on, “That is to say, I am not sure it is our place to talk about it.”

“TALK ABOUT WHAT?” Papyrus inquired.

Again, Toriel looked reluctant to proceed. After a pause, the man at the head of the table sighed and folded his hands across his lap. “Your human friend,” he said. “...I believe their legal name is Frisk Morris?” At the name, Toriel looked uncomfortable, somehow, but he either didn’t notice or paid no mind to it. “Anyway, apparently you’re not aware of their disappearance. Is that right?”

...What? “FRISK DISAPPEARED?”

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

Wait, _wait_ , how— “HOW DO YOU KNOW THEY’RE GONE?” he blurted, before he could stop himself, and the redheaded woman next to him sent him a fiery glare. “HAS ANYONE CONTACTED THEIR PARENTS? OR QUESTIONED THEM?”

The head human nodded. “They claim they have no idea where their child went,” he said. “They just... Vanished, according to them.”

“WHAT ABOUT WITNESSES?” Papyrus pressed. “SURELY SOMEONE MUST HAVE SEEN THEM GO.”

“I’m afraid not. But I assure you, we have our men searching for them as we speak,” the man told him. “But we have no leads as of right now. Unfortunately, regarding this,” he added, as he suddenly made to stand, “there is nothing more to this meeting. I’ve said all I can. Everyone is dismissed.”

“Wait,” Toriel piped up quickly, “you said you would send out another search party, or, or help us find them—”

“It’s too dangerous.”

“Too _dangerous_?” Toriel rose. “You don’t even know where they are!”

“Miss Dreemurr—”

“My child is missing and you do not even want to _try_ to look for them?”

“We just said that we have our men searching for them,” a new voice spoke; the other human, as it turned out. Calmly, she combed her fingers through her red hair, adding, “I also don’t recall the child being yours, Miss Dreemurr. Please refrain from making such claims.”

The former queen clenched her fists, glaring at the human like she’d just insulted her very being—but instead of saying anything more, she turned on her heel and practically flew out the door. Asgore followed, after a moment; if anything, likely just to calm her down, so they could continue with what remained of the meeting.

Papyrus, however, simply stayed where he was.

And when the meeting ended, and he went home around sunset, he didn’t stop pondering the fact that Frisk, just maybe, had vanished completely.

They... Had it coming. He knew that. He knew he shouldn’t feel bad, after all this time.

Yes, he’d told them not to do it again, and yes, they’d seemed to listen so far, but...

But that didn’t erase what they’d done.

It didn’t erase the years of torture everyone had to endure, it didn’t erase the all times he’d tried to stop them, and failed because they just refused to cooperate—or he refused to see the truth. It didn’t erase what they’d forced him to do.

It didn’t erase the pain they’d caused his brother: the pain _he_ had caused his brother, just as some vain attempt to stop them.

It didn’t erase the fear he’d seen in Sans’s eyes, the _agony_ he could see that rotted at his soul.

Their promise didn’t erase anything.

Regardless of what had happened to them, whether it was their own doing or not, they deserved it.

Maybe... Maybe it was a good thing they were gone?

Maybe that was what the point of this all was, in the end. To rid them of the torture they had had to endure.

Frisk was just an obstacle; something that barricaded them from their happy ending.

It was good they were gone.

He shouldn’t care about this.

...At least...

That’s what Papyrus kept trying to tell himself. Over and over.

_Over, and over, and over._

...

...

...But, despite everything...

Despite everything, Papyrus was still Papyrus.

And what Papyrus was, was a fool.

* * *

“uh, bro?” Sans cocked his head a bit, watching as Papyrus put his coat on. “where you goin’ now? today’s saturday.”

“IT IS INDEED SATURDAY, YES,” confirmed his brother nonchalantly, proceeding to put on some rain boots.

“then what’s with that?” He gestured towards his said boots.

“WELL OBVIOUSLY, IT’S VERY MUDDY AND WET OUTSIDE!”

“not what i was referring to, but okay.” He squinted his eye-sockets slightly, but said nothing further, and watched him go out the door, heading for... Somewhere. Definitely not somewhere he usually went to, seeing as it was Saturday; going somewhere on the weekend was pretty odd, even for his brother.

~~And that wasn't including the fact he had promised.~~

Oh well.

There was still tomorrow, right?


	4. Unravel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where Papyrus tries to solve a mystery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is really late and i apologize haha
> 
> anyway, here is a chapter that will not satisfy anyone--

As soon as he arrived at the building, Papyrus jumped out, grateful it hadn’t started raining again since that morning; he did have an umbrella, in the backseat of his car conveniently, but he preferred not to use it as he didn’t like fiddling with the thing.

Well, it shouldn’t take very long anyway—he’d just look at a few things and then go home. He won’t start searching entirely just yet.

He entered through the twin glass doors and immediately put on a smile upon seeing someone already there; it grew as he recognized the woman. “HUMAN ALICE!!”

The curly-haired human whirled around and nearly jumped straight into the air; unfortunately for her, doing so caused her to scatter the papers she’d had onto the floor, creating a mess. Without thinking she quickly dropped to her knees to begin picking them up, and Papyrus rushed over to help.

“I-I AM SO SORRY,” he stammered, stacking papers neatly as he went, “I DID NOT MEAN TO SCARE YOU, REALLY!”

She met his gaze shakily, looking frazzled, but managed a wavering smile. “I-it’s okay, i-it’s my bad, Mr. Aster—I mean—Papyrus, was it?”

“OF COURSE!”

He handed her the papers he’d gathered and she rose to her feet with all them pressed against her clothes tightly, as though afraid they might fly off again. “Thank you, I’m really sorry about wasting your time—”

“NO, NO, IT’S MY FAULT!” Why does he have to ruin everything— “I, UM...” He trailed off, suddenly uncertain of himself.

“Yes?”

“COULD YOU... ERR, DO YOU KNOW IF,” he fumbled with his gloves like he did with his words, “I WAS WONDERING IF ANYONE KEPT FILES ON... FRISK’S FAMILY...?”

Her eyes widened slightly, and she said, “You mean, the Morris’s?”

Papyrus nodded, still unsure—still expecting her to tell him off, somehow. But instead...

“Follow me, I think I know where they keep the documents,” she told him, turning and walking away with a new purpose in her step. Papyrus seemed to jolt before going to keep pace with her.

“THIS IS ALL OF IT?”

He stared down at the files in his hands as Alice shuffled off to the side, looking just a bit nervous; she nodded after a pause.

“Technically, I’m not supposed to show you them,” she said, softly but just loud enough for him to pick up.

“WAIT—” His head darted up. “YOU’RE NOT ALLOWED TO SHOW ME THIS? WHY DIDN’T YOU JUST SAY SO?!”

“Um, w-well...” He heard the tremor in her voice, and instantly regretted coming off as so rude. “I thought it’d be okay.”

“BUT WHY?” he asked, blinking at her in confusion. She shrugged unprofessionally.

“They gave me charge of said files, I get to do what I want with them; and you’re nice enough.” She smiled slightly, adding, “You help me, I help you, right?”

...Heh.

“THANK YOU,” Papyrus murmured, beaming back at her.

* * *

The sky was growing blacker by the time he made it back home; after pulling the keys from the ignition, he hesitated, noticing all the lights in the house were off.

He walked up to the door, and upon finding it unlocked he opened it easily, glancing around the dark of their living room for a moment. “BROTHER?” he called out, trying to remain calm but somehow fearing the worst anyway. Something moved from the darkness on the couch and he almost let out a sigh of relief upon meeting his brother’s gaze, looking up at him in tired bewilderment.

“you’re back already?” he inquired, sleepily rubbing at his eyesockets as he sat up on the cushion.

“YOU’RE NOT IN BED?” Papyrus shot back at him, a little bit peeved Sans had chosen to sleep on the couch, of all things—in response, the other skeleton chuckled.

“eh, wasn’t comfy enough.”

“YOUR _BED_ WASN’T COMFY ENOUGH?” echoed the taller. “AND THE COUCH _IS_?”

Sans shrugged, his eye-lights flicking off the side; something they did when he wasn’t telling him everything.

...Oh.

“SANS—”

“no, ‘s fine. ‘m just being stupid.”

Before he could respond, Sans blipped out of existence, presumably back to his room, and Papyrus felt shame bubble inside him, whether warranted or not.

The papers stretched out in front of him in a less than organized pile as he trifled through them, rereading something every once in a while.

Something... Wasn’t right about this.

For one, Mr. Morris, Frisk’s father, looked nothing like them in the pictures he’d found. It wouldn’t have bothered him so deeply if not for the fact the documents specifically said he was the biological father. Another interesting—and unnerving—tidbit of information he found was that Mrs. Morris had been involved in some sort of “magic conspiracy” way back, seemingly when she was very young.

Everything about it rubbed Papyrus the wrong way; especially the fact these two people were still in Ebott right then, and Frisk themselves was nowhere to be found.

A sudden clatter sounded behind him, and he nearly jumped out of his (figurative) skin. He whipped around, only to see Sans in the kitchen, messing with the coffee maker. Sans merely looked at him, sheepish.

“...sorry.”

“IT’S FINE,” was all Papyrus could get out. Sans shuffled slightly in place.

“whatcha workin’ on, anyhow?”

Oh. Right.

“UM... YOU’RE, NOT GOING TO BE HAPPY, I DON’T THINK—?”

Sans raised a bonebrow,

“—BUT I’M TRYING TO FIND FRISK.”

His brother froze. His eye-sockets darkened, but the lights didn’t snuff themselves out quite yet.

“...why?”

Papyrus fidgeted, glancing back at the papers scattered on the table in front of him. “BECAUSE, THIS... I WANT TO KNOW WHERE THEY ARE, AND—”

“but _why_?”

“I DON’T KNOW!”

He shrank down into the chair, feeling smaller than he was, and feeling all the more guilty that he’d yelled. “I... I DON’T KNOW, SANS.”

The shorter merely stared back, as though awaiting further words.

“SOMETHING JUST ISN’T RIGHT," Papyrus went on after a pause. "THAT’S WHAT I DO KNOW, AND...” _AND I HAVE TO FIX IT._

“but there’s no...” Papyrus glanced in his direction as Sans’s voice cracked slightly. “...you don’t _have_ to fix anything, Pap.”

“YES, I DO. IT’S MY JOB TO, IT JUST—IT JUST _IS_.”

“but they never tried to fix anything for _us_.”

“...I KNOW.”

But... He had to try.

Maybe because he hadn’t learned anything since back then.

Maybe because he had.

“I JUST HAVE TO FIND THEM,” he finished, and turned his eyesockets back to his makeshift work.

Sans chuckled to himself, but said nothing more.


	5. (Please Don't) Try to Forget

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where things are complicated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oop this update is long overdue--sorry if it's rushed, i really probably don't need to be writing today (and really shouldn't, i got no sleep again) but i really wanted to, and it's my birthday so i get to do what i want hAH

The next day, Sans watched his brother pack.

He put all the files he had into a ratty old suitcase he’d managed to get a hold of, along with a rope, some basic tools, and freeze-dried icecream. For the entirety of such, Sans stayed silent, just sitting and drinking his coffee as usual.

He’d gotten used to this sort of thing: Papyrus leaving, with little to no word as to where he was going. Part of him was too tired to focus on it anymore. Too worn out to make a real fuss.

The other part of him still cared.

He loved Papyrus. But Papyrus was stubborn, in many ways, and all of those ways got on Sans’s metaphorical nerves.

He was tired of being left behind. He didn’t want to have to remember all of the times Papyrus had done that to him, good intentions or not. He didn’t want Papyrus to leave anymore.

He wanted to leave _that_ behind.

Things should be _different_ now, he thought. Things should be better. They both should be better. ~~Right?~~

He knew Papyrus didn’t mean to hurt him. He knew Papyrus just wanted what was best, for both of them.

But this had to end.

With that in mind, Sans set down his coffee cup—admittedly a bit too hard, causing him to wince slightly. It sort of got the effect, though, as Papyrus stopped messing with the suitcase’s zipper.

“BE MORE CAREFUL, YOU COULD HAVE BROKEN THAT,” was all he said, eyeing Sans with a bit of irritation, before turning his eyes again, fully prepared to continue with what he had been doing prior; obviously not satisfied with this, Sans cleared his throat, a tad too loudly.

Papyrus looked back at him again, blankly this time, then proceeded to rub where the bridge of his nose would be, sighing wearily. “WHAT IS IT, SANS?”

Biting back some annoyance, the shorter threaded his fingers together on the kitchen table in front of him, appearing casual. “you going on vacation?” he asked blatantly.

At first, Papyrus seemed confused—but it quickly changed to another blank expression, as he spared a glance at the suitcase on the couch. “NO,” he finally settled on, edging on hesitant. “I WAS... I’M, JUST GOING TO GO TALK TO... A FRIEND.”

Notably the hesitance had increased, and Sans just barely raised a brow at him. “aaand you need all that stuff for that?”

“HE... THEY LIVE, SORT OF FAR AWAY,” he supplied vaguely, and suddenly Sans sat up ramrod straight, causing Papyrus to jump.

“seriously?”

“...YEES?”

Sans fell back into his chair, and barked out an abrupt laugh a moment later. “’lright, fine, if that’s what you wanna do.”

“SANS, HE’S NOT AS BAD AS YOU THINK—”

“yeah, ‘kay.”

Papyrus frowned, none too pleased with his verdict. “I WAS _GOING_ TO TELL YOU,” he stated, but the way his eyesockets shifted implied he was lying, even if it was just a consideration not to.

Sans wasn’t even upset, at this point. Maybe Papyrus was going to tell him. Maybe he’d _still_ tell him, where he planned to go to after seeing his “friend.” He wasn’t just packing for a visit—at the very least, there was more to this than Papyrus wanted him to think.

“it’s fine,” Sans said, simply.

His brother looked at him uneasily, trying to read his expression; trying to read _him_. Sans didn’t leave much to go off of, though.

But clearly, Papyrus figured some of it out, more or less.

So he replied quietly, “No, you don’t think it is.”

Sans, in response, just chuckled, and waited until Papyrus continued.

“I never said I thought it was fine either; believe me, brother.”

“really? ‘cause it seems like you were fully prepared to up and hit the road without sayin’ anything.”

Papyrus shook his head, seeming a bit helpless. “It’s... That’s partially true, but I—I was going to come back, after this.”

“were you?” Sans inquired, picking at his jacket lazily, bitterly nonchalant.

“Yes!” his brother affirmed—huh. He seemed offended now.

Oh well, not like Sans could do anything right, no matter what he did.

“I wouldn’t—” He tried focusing on Papyrus’s next words without feeling sorry for himself. “You know I wouldn’t do that to you, don’t you?”

Did he?

“Not after...”

He faltered.

“I... I _wouldn’t_ , Sans. I thought about it, but it... Only for a moment. It wouldn’t be fair to you.”

Was anything ever fair, anymore?

“’s fine,” Sans said, again, trying to reassure him, despite how he himself felt. “you’re doin’ what you thinks best, right?”

“...That’s...”

He frowned, deeper this time.

“That isn’t a good excuse, brother. We both know that.”

“do we?” Sans shrugged. “i mean, why not? it’s not like it even matters anymore.”

“Sans...”

“it’s okay, Pap. ‘m not mad or anything. do what you have to, alright?”

He used that last word to look away, unable to meet his brother’s gaze anymore, for fear of thinking too much on the guilt and care in his eyes. He wouldn’t cry. He was better than this. He was supposed to be stronger, now. He’d promised himself that, promised his brother.

It was fine. Really.

Papyrus could go.

Papyrus could be stronger without him to worry about.

Papyrus...

Papyrus didn’t need him.

Distantly, Sans knew he was being moved somewhere, but his mind couldn’t quite catch up just yet. He was instinctively latching onto something, something that was latching onto him as well, but he couldn’t make out what exactly was happening.

He heard a voice, fading in and out, just bits and pieces. Still, he heard one thing in particular, one thing that stood out to him:

“...Not leaving you. I promise. Never again.”

Maybe he believed the voice, maybe he didn’t.

He just held onto his brother, for as long as he could—as long as he’d let him.

* * *

Papyrus decided to wait, for a little while longer, to see Flowey. Not long, of course, for he wanted to find Frisk as soon as possible; and talking to Flowey might give him a lead. He might have seen them go. Frisk used to like visiting him, even when they wouldn’t do so with everyone else.

Most certainly, he’d know _something_. And Papyrus had to try, but...

His eyesockets drooping in barely-restrained exhaustion, he clutched Sans just a bit closer to his side, absentmindedly nuzzling the top of his skull as he drifted off.

But right now, he wanted to stay here, with his brother. He wanted to do better than those last times, even if he’d been trying for Sans’s sake even then.

He wanted to _be_ better. Not just for his brother, but for himself, too.

And this time, he would be.

He’d wanted to forget his mistakes before, and ignore them. But now he knew he should use them, as a reminder, though not a defining trait, either.

He wouldn’t _just_ try this time.

He _would_ do this.

...

They both would.

Together.


End file.
